Tag management solutions are an integral part of building a strong data foundation. They allow you to organize and maintain control of your most critical tags, increase page load time, and quicken the release of new and updated campaigns. Benefits include more accurate tagging, time saved, and fewer resources dedicated to the maintenance of tracking initiatives.

There are a handful of adequate options across the market, but this conversation regularly comes down to a comparative analysis between two leaders: Google Tag Manager and Tealium. While there are strengths and weaknesses to each technology, we believe the pros of Google Tag Manager tip the scale in its favor — at least for now.

With Google Analytics 360 as the gold standard for web analytics measurement, it makes sense for Google to provide a cohesive platform that plugs and plays seamlessly with this vital tool. While both Google Tag Manager and Tealium provide a single tracker and intuitive interfaces, Google Tag Manager takes flexibility and control a step deeper in five key areas:

Cost to Customer

Google dataLayer Customization

Modularity & Access Control

Enhanced Event Tracking

Publicly Available Documentation

COST TO CUSTOMER

Let’s be honest: sometimes, your bottom line is the bottom line. If you’re searching for an enterprise-level solution that fits neatly within your technology budget, there’s absolutely no better option than Google Tag Manager.

Really. It’s free, with very few limitations. You get a robust, clean, and natively integrated enterprise-level tagging solution at no additional cost.

Even better, if you’d like the additional security of over a 99% uptime SLA, an unlimited number of concurrent workspaces, enhanced SDK integrations and tag templates, and/or best in class support and service from Google and its certified partners, Google Tag Manager 360 can be bundled for free with your Google Analytics 360 purchase through a Google Analytics Certified Partner. If cost is a concern, you can’t beat that!

GOOGLE DATALAYER CUSTOMIZATION AND MODUALRITY

While both Google Tag Manager and Tealium provide the option of on-page data capture within the Google Analytics dataLayer, Google Tag Manager supports a much greater breadth of data types:

Data Type

GTM

Tealium

1st Party Cookie

✔

✔

JavaScript Variable

✔

✔

Metadata Element

✔

✔

Query String Parameter

✔

✔

UDO Variable

✔

✔

Auto-Event Variable

✔

✘

Constant

✔

✘

Container ID

✔

✘

Container Version

✔

✘

Custom Event

✔

✘

Custom JavaScript Function

✔

✘

Data Layer Variable

✔

✘

Debug Mode

✔

✘

DOM Element

✔

✘

Environment Namer

✔

✘

This enhanced customization allows for in-depth tracking, giving you the ability to slice and dice at a more granular level, and subsequently generate more detailed insights.

Additionally, Google Tag Manager provides edit access to these dataLayer variables — via a JavaScript array that cadences object push, rather than as a single flat JavaScript object — offering more control over edits and updates.

That is to say, edits to the dataLayer made within Google Tag Manager are clear and visible, individualized, and asynchronous by design. If an accidental overwrite occurs, these tracked changes safeguard the process and allow you to identify and amend the mistake quickly. This is important for more complex, enterprise-level configurations that require an in-depth dataLayer scope.

MODULARITY AND ACCESS CONTROL

Also of paramount importance for complex configurations, is the ability to restrict user access to avoid the natural consequence of too many cooks in the kitchen. Trite as it might seem, the euphemized “unintentional adjustment” is all too common when large and diverse teams are working in tandem against firm deadlines. Digital is fast-paced, and the last thing you and your team have time for is fixing a part of your site that should never have been broken in the first place.

Google Tag Manager’s modular editing environments and flexible access control puts authority over code review and quality assurance directly in your hands. You can even set up entirely separate workspaces, where changes in one area can be completely isolated from code in another area. This is an especially great tool if you have multiple partners or agencies responsible for segmented areas in your data tracking, and especially if those different business units are collaborating on tag updates simultaneously.

PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION

Google is skilled in creating in-depth and publically available documentation for their products,and in making sure that documentation is actually useful.

Even the most complicated implementations of Google Tag Manager can be successfully completed in-house, by a novice team, so long as the team constantly refers to the available guides and pursues best practices at all times.

The best part of this publicly available documentation? It is tailored specifically to a non-technical audience. In combination with the intuitive Google Tag Manager interface, Google’s knowledge share brings the control of a powerful, otherwise highly technical, tool to a broader range of skill sets.

It’s a lower barrier of entry that is unmatched within the competitive set, and a decreased dependency on engineering and external resources that allows you to make required updates quicker.

ENHANCED EVENT TRACKING

Any proper tag management system will offer the ability to add event tracking dynamically, but the templated tags in Google Tag Manager sets Google Tag Manager apart from the competition.

The templates give you the foundation you need to set up event tracking with minimal custom JavaScript, while still allowing the flexibility to customize, restrict, and specify how these tags fire as needed.

Additionally, Google Tag Manager offers built-in triggers for events like clicks, page views, form submits, and custom events. This helps minimize the amount of custom code required for proper implementation. Event tracking is far more accessible to a non-engineering internal team and helps improve efficiency in both deployment and accuracy.

With a low to zero cost to customers, amplified dataLayer customization, modularity, and access control enhanced event tracking, along with a robust library of free step-by-step documentation, makes Google Tag Manager the top solution to execute your tag management strategy.

Tags:

DELVE Experts

5 Reasons Google Tag Manager is the Best Tag Management Solution

Tag management solutions are an integral part of building a strong data foundation. They allow…

5 Reasons Google Tag Manager is the Best Tag Management Solution

Tag management solutions are an integral part of building a strong data foundation. They allow you to organize and maintain control of your most critical tags, increase page load time, and quicken the release of new and updated campaigns. Benefits include more accurate tagging, time saved, and fewer resources dedicated to the maintenance of tracking initiatives.

There are a handful of adequate options across the market, but this conversation regularly comes down to a comparative analysis between two leaders: Google Tag Manager and Tealium. While there are strengths and weaknesses to each technology, we believe the pros of Google Tag Manager tip the scale in its favor — at least for now.

With Google Analytics 360 as the gold standard for web analytics measurement, it makes sense for Google to provide a cohesive platform that plugs and plays seamlessly with this vital tool. While both Google Tag Manager and Tealium provide a single tracker and intuitive interfaces, Google Tag Manager takes flexibility and control a step deeper in five key areas:

Cost to Customer

Google dataLayer Customization

Modularity & Access Control

Enhanced Event Tracking

Publicly Available Documentation

COST TO CUSTOMER

Let’s be honest: sometimes, your bottom line is the bottom line. If you’re searching for an enterprise-level solution that fits neatly within your technology budget, there’s absolutely no better option than Google Tag Manager.

Really. It’s free, with very few limitations. You get a robust, clean, and natively integrated enterprise-level tagging solution at no additional cost.

Even better, if you’d like the additional security of over a 99% uptime SLA, an unlimited number of concurrent workspaces, enhanced SDK integrations and tag templates, and/or best in class support and service from Google and its certified partners, Google Tag Manager 360 can be bundled for free with your Google Analytics 360 purchase through a Google Analytics Certified Partner. If cost is a concern, you can’t beat that!

GOOGLE DATALAYER CUSTOMIZATION AND MODUALRITY

While both Google Tag Manager and Tealium provide the option of on-page data capture within the Google Analytics dataLayer, Google Tag Manager supports a much greater breadth of data types:

Data Type

GTM

Tealium

1st Party Cookie

✔

✔

JavaScript Variable

✔

✔

Metadata Element

✔

✔

Query String Parameter

✔

✔

UDO Variable

✔

✔

Auto-Event Variable

✔

✘

Constant

✔

✘

Container ID

✔

✘

Container Version

✔

✘

Custom Event

✔

✘

Custom JavaScript Function

✔

✘

Data Layer Variable

✔

✘

Debug Mode

✔

✘

DOM Element

✔

✘

Environment Namer

✔

✘

This enhanced customization allows for in-depth tracking, giving you the ability to slice and dice at a more granular level, and subsequently generate more detailed insights.

Additionally, Google Tag Manager provides edit access to these dataLayer variables — via a JavaScript array that cadences object push, rather than as a single flat JavaScript object — offering more control over edits and updates.

That is to say, edits to the dataLayer made within Google Tag Manager are clear and visible, individualized, and asynchronous by design. If an accidental overwrite occurs, these tracked changes safeguard the process and allow you to identify and amend the mistake quickly. This is important for more complex, enterprise-level configurations that require an in-depth dataLayer scope.

MODULARITY AND ACCESS CONTROL

Also of paramount importance for complex configurations, is the ability to restrict user access to avoid the natural consequence of too many cooks in the kitchen. Trite as it might seem, the euphemized “unintentional adjustment” is all too common when large and diverse teams are working in tandem against firm deadlines. Digital is fast-paced, and the last thing you and your team have time for is fixing a part of your site that should never have been broken in the first place.

Google Tag Manager’s modular editing environments and flexible access control puts authority over code review and quality assurance directly in your hands. You can even set up entirely separate workspaces, where changes in one area can be completely isolated from code in another area. This is an especially great tool if you have multiple partners or agencies responsible for segmented areas in your data tracking, and especially if those different business units are collaborating on tag updates simultaneously.

PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION

Google is skilled in creating in-depth and publically available documentation for their products,and in making sure that documentation is actually useful.

Even the most complicated implementations of Google Tag Manager can be successfully completed in-house, by a novice team, so long as the team constantly refers to the available guides and pursues best practices at all times.

The best part of this publicly available documentation? It is tailored specifically to a non-technical audience. In combination with the intuitive Google Tag Manager interface, Google’s knowledge share brings the control of a powerful, otherwise highly technical, tool to a broader range of skill sets.

It’s a lower barrier of entry that is unmatched within the competitive set, and a decreased dependency on engineering and external resources that allows you to make required updates quicker.

ENHANCED EVENT TRACKING

Any proper tag management system will offer the ability to add event tracking dynamically, but the templated tags in Google Tag Manager sets Google Tag Manager apart from the competition.

The templates give you the foundation you need to set up event tracking with minimal custom JavaScript, while still allowing the flexibility to customize, restrict, and specify how these tags fire as needed.

Additionally, Google Tag Manager offers built-in triggers for events like clicks, page views, form submits, and custom events. This helps minimize the amount of custom code required for proper implementation. Event tracking is far more accessible to a non-engineering internal team and helps improve efficiency in both deployment and accuracy.

With a low to zero cost to customers, amplified dataLayer customization, modularity, and access control enhanced event tracking, along with a robust library of free step-by-step documentation, makes Google Tag Manager the top solution to execute your tag management strategy.

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